Choosing the Operation

Johanna Shapiro, PhD
In appreciation of “Monet Refuses the Operation,” a poem by Lisel Mueller

Cataract surgery
under local anesthesia
means you get to watch
while they do surgery
on your eye

So you can see
(although not too well
because you’re almost blind)
as the sharp implements approach
then make contact
and the surgeon says
“Incision made” or “Lens removed”

Read the full Poem